Traditionally the national finals are held in the NEC, Birmingham but this year, because of COVID restrictions, the finals will be held at venues throughout the UK between the 9th and 19th of November; the Web Design final will be held at Weston College in Somerset.
Jonathon is one of eleven students selected to represent Northern Regional College in the national finals. He completed a BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Creative Media (Interactive Media) and achieved the highest possible grade to secure his place at Ulster University where he is in the first year of a BDes (Hons) degree in Interaction Design.
Jonathon said he was ‘absolutely delighted’ to make the final: “Only the top eight competitors make the final, so I am absolutely delighted to be one of them. It will be slightly nerve-wracking taking on the best across the UK, but I’m up for the challenge.”
He said he had really benefited from his time at Northern Regional College and has no hesitation recommending the Level 3 Creative Media course.
“I would definitely recommend this course for anyone interested in any element of web design as it will give the right skillset to progress to university or employment in this sector.”
Web Design lecturer Aaron Colton said he was delighted but not surprised at Jonathon’s success:
“Jonathon is a hard-working and dedicated student. His recent WorldSkills UK achievement came as no surprise to me as he completes every task to a high standard. Since September 2019, I've had the pleasure of watching his skills and confidence grow as he became more disciplined and independent in his studies.”
Aaron added: “Jonathon knows that to become a successful web designer he needs to push himself beyond what is taught in the classroom. WorldSkills UK LIVE qualification was even more challenging this year because of the pandemic, so our department is massively proud of all that he has achieved so far. We will be following his journey very closely and wish him every success in the future.”
For the first stage of the competition, Jonathon had to design a single page website to meet a given specification. For the national qualifier round, he had to replicate a web site using industry standard web codes, including HTML5 and CSS3. He finished third out of 150 competitors to make it to the final.
Gordon Kane, Northern Regional College’s Skills’ Champion, congratulated all the finalists and said it is a wonderful achievement for them individually and for the College.
“We are justifiably proud of all our WorldSkills UK finalists for what they have achieved so far. It is wonderful to get through to this stage of a national competition and it is a great boost for them to have this on their CVs. They are shining examples of the skills and talent inherent in young people. Their success to date reflects their commitment and dedication to their respective career paths and I wish them every success,” he said.
Northern Regional College has a proven track record at WorldSkills UK LIVE finals with Rory McCloskey and Samuel Gilmore capturing gold in in recent years for Computer Numerical Control (CNC) Milling and Carpentry respectively.